You have a small business, or you are a freelance/professional service provider. You spend hours creating social media content, but it seems nobody ever sees it.
For some reason, building a following seems impossible. You are doing everything by the book, and yet you are getting nowhere.
Instead of being like a hamster on a wheel, trying to please the algorithm which doesn’t care about you…
Is it perhaps time for a completely different approach?
The shocking, old-school concept:
Go where there are no algorithms.
And yes, those places still exist. Not for every niche, but they are there as an option for many niches.
So where do you go?
Online forums.
Yes, it’s old school.
Yes, it sounds boring.
And yes, you can only scale it according to the size of the forum.
But here’s the kicker:
On forums, posts are displayed according to chronological actions. When a new post is made, or a comment is made on an existing post, that thread is pushed back up to the top of the category list on the home page.
Useful posts can be searched by members, and can even appear in Google’s search results for narrow, focused topics.
Most forums allow you to add a signature under every post, letting you siphon visitors to your website.
In short: If you know how to use the system, you can get plenty of exposure without every having to please any algorithm.
Why forum marketing deserves a critical look:
When you create content for a search engine or social media algorithm, you (a) try to please an ever-changing entity, by (b) jumping through a string of hoops and (c) competing against everybody else on the platform for visibility.
On a forum, you already have a number of people discussing topics around similar interests, and you simply join the conversation.
What are the benefits?
You don’t need an audience, or have a history of popular posts in order to guarantee exposure.
You can reach your ideal customers. You are no longer “shouting into the void” like on social media, where all topics under the sun are competing for attention.
You can demonstrate your expertise by providing helpful answers.
You don’t have to constantly create new content – you can just partake in conversations.
As you participate in conversations, other forum users start to remember you and your brand. Consistent activity builds trust.
Some contributions are discoverable on external search engines, especially helpful responses. Of course, everything you said in the past to help others remain searchable on the forum too.
Important:
Forum marketing is not automatically easier or more effective than social media. But if you prefer simple, consistent actions over guessing how to beat everyone else’s posts on any specific day, it can be a viable alternative.
Find forums where your potential clients or customers hang out:
Ask yourself: What does your potential customer need?
Search for forums where people discuss relevant topics. Don’t just frequent a forum filled with your peers, or you will end up being another seller in a room full of sellers.
Look for forums with regular discussions around topics that matter.
For instance:
A virtual assistant may look for forums where small business owners discuss administrative challenges.
An online tutor can look for forums where questions relating to their expertise come up regularly.
A software developer may look for a forum where people discuss issues which he or she can solve by coding simple software solutions, or even offering their existing software as a solution.
In order to find relevant forums, execute Google searches for search terms that combine terms form your industry with words like “forum”, “community”, or “discussion”.
What to check before joining a forum:
How active is the forum? Look at the number of views each post is getting, and how much daily activity there is.
Do the users resemble people who could be potential clients or customers?
Do existing posts look like real discussions, or like spam?
Are questions and responses organized by topic or category?
Is there a “wall” of recent discussions and replies?
Are older discussions searchable?
Are you able to add a signature with an external link? If not, you lose the “ad space” beneath every post or comment.
Are all new posts and comments treated equal? Do you see posts from newer members on the “wall”? If not, and all the posts are from popular users, the forum may be run on an algorithm too. Avoid it.
Note: it is better to join just a few relevant, active forums at the start. It is better to post say, three responses per day per forum than to join a dozen, and only reach each forum every second or third day. Accumulate your responses in a few places.
Chronological visibility does not guarantee exposure, but it can be easier to work with than the “algorithm hamster wheel”.
Use your forum signature to create ongoing visibility:
For those of you who don’t know, a forum signature is simply a text ad that appears under every post or comment you make. Ideally, it should allow you to insert a clickable link.
What it could include:
Your business name.
A short description of what you do or offer.
A link to your website or landing page.
For instance:
Lisech marketing strategy consulting | Marketing consulting for small business | https://lisech.com
Alternatively, you could make it a powerful call to action with a link.
Important: Read the forum rules about what is allowed in your signature, and what is not. If the rules don’t work for you, it is better to find another forum than to risk getting banned.
How to make your signature work for you:
In a chronological forum, your posts or responses appear on the “wall” every time you submit one. If you get involved in a discussion which is “on fire” (everybody joining in the conversation), you can leave repeated comments, responding to other people’s comments.
In a discussion that ends up with say, 100 responses, you can easily insert 5 comments, giving you a load of visibility (due to the sheer number of participants and viewers).
Of course, if it is a topic that will not attract your ideal client or customer, your chances of getting traffic from it are low. But it can still add to your post count, which will help with your credibility as a user.
Final note:
Not every display of your signature will result in a click. Clicks only come from people who actually want what you have to offer. It is a numbers game.
Also, while having inbound links from a forum with high page authority in Google may help your website’s SEO, its SEO value may not be as much as you would like. Your primary motivation should be traffic, not SEO.
Don’t participate to promote. Participate to help:
A forum is not like an advertising group on Google. In fact, some forums make you pay to place ads.
First, observe the forum rules. Aside from the fact that moderators not always being lenient, many communities actively frown upon actions that violate the rules, often leaving blunt comments before reporting you.
Read through the forum post archives, and see which topics come up. Identify opportunities relating to your expertise.
Make your responses clear, and address the actual question. If need be, explain your reasoning, or offer real world examples from your personal experience.
Where needed, ask relevant follow-up questions.
Even if nobody checks your signature, a thoughtful response will showcase your expertise, and build your credibility.
DO NOT leave generic, short responses just to have your signature seen. Low quality posts hurt your credibility. On some forums, it can lead to account restrictions, including losing your signature.
How to choose which forum threads to join:
A thread’s popularity doesn’t automatically make it worth your time.
Consider these three factors:
Is it relevant to what you offer?
Will it attract – among other users – your ideal prospects?
Are you able to contribute something of value to the conversation, or at least ask a useful question?
A discussion with a high view count may be of little commercial value. Your objective is not to comment everywhere, but instead to place yourself in front of people who may actually need what you offer, or need your guidance.
Creating your forum marketing routine:
For the start, pick two suitable forums. Just two. Set aside four weeks to test.
For the first few days, simply observe the discussions and dynamics. Learn the rules.
Identify relevant threads, and contribute useful responses.
Add your signature. On some forums, you will only be able to add it after a certain number of posts. DO NOT create short, generic posts just to reach that number. Offer value posts from the start.
Note the meaningful conversations, and check the traffic from each forum on your website’s analytics.
Review the results after four weeks. You can start with as little as 15 to 20 minutes per day, and adjust as needed.
Instead of measuring exposure, measure actual outcomes.
Did you reach relevant people?
Did anyone visit your website?
Did you receive any inquiries?
Did you make useful professional connections?
Was the time invested worthwhile?
The initial four weeks is a starting experiment, and not a guarantee that results will appear within that period. However, you should be able to note patterns soon – including how many exposures it requires – on average – to get one visitor.
The limitations of forum marketing:
We have to be realistic about this.
First, not every niche has suitable forums. The demographic you want to reach may simply prefer to hang out somewhere else.
Rules vary between forums. Some restrict commercial links, and some don’t offer signatures at all.
Participation takes time. Being actually helpful require some thought and focus.
Exposure does not equal buyers. not everybody seeing your signature will visit your website, and even then it still depends on whether your website was laid out – and populated with content – the right way.
You do not control the platform – rules may change, which may reduce activity on the forum. Some forums close when their owners move on to bigger things.
The results of forum marketing does not scale like those of social media marketing. You are limited to how many potential customers or clients there are on the forum you use. But when you start out, or only need a few clients to make the math work, it can be easier to work with than algorithm-based platforms.
As such, forum marketing probably won’t replace your long term marketing – but it can help you generate income faster.
In conclusion:
Instead of chasing the algorithm, you place yourself in front of people. You settle for smaller potential numbers, but those numbers include targeted prospects.
Instead of trying to become popular, simply become effective.
See what works, and try to improve on it. The same goes for your forum signature.
And above all, be consistent.